US20070260921A1 - Intelligent switch and method for retransmitting a lost packet to decoder(s) - Google Patents
Intelligent switch and method for retransmitting a lost packet to decoder(s) Download PDFInfo
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- US20070260921A1 US20070260921A1 US11/367,891 US36789106A US2007260921A1 US 20070260921 A1 US20070260921 A1 US 20070260921A1 US 36789106 A US36789106 A US 36789106A US 2007260921 A1 US2007260921 A1 US 2007260921A1
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- lost packet
- request
- retransmission
- decoder
- intelligent switch
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N7/00—Television systems
- H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
- H04N7/173—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
- H04N7/17309—Transmission or handling of upstream communications
- H04N7/17318—Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client
- H04N21/63—Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing
- H04N21/637—Control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components
- H04N21/6375—Control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components for requesting retransmission, e.g. of data packets lost or corrupted during transmission from server
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client
- H04N21/63—Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing
- H04N21/637—Control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components
- H04N21/6377—Control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components directed to server
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client
- H04N21/65—Transmission of management data between client and server
- H04N21/658—Transmission by the client directed to the server
Definitions
- the present invention is related to an intelligent switch and a method for retransmitting a lost packet that is associated with a television broadcast stream to one or more decoders (set-top boxes).
- FIG. 1 there is a block diagram that illustrates the basic components of an exemplary transport network 100 which can provide broadcast TV channels to homes via DSL phone lines.
- the exemplary transport network 100 shown includes two super head-ends 102 , a backbone network 104 , multiple VHOs 106 , multiple IOs 108 , multiple COs 110 , multiple SAIs 112 and multiple STBs 114 .
- each super head-end 102 (which includes a router 116 ) receives international TV feeds and supplies those international TV feeds via the backbone network 104 to each VHO 106 .
- each VHO 106 (which includes a router 118 , intelligent switch 120 , VoD server 122 and BTV server 124 ) receives local TV feeds and multicasts all of the TV feeds to their respective IOs 108 .
- each IO 108 (which includes a router 126 ) then multicasts all of the TV feeds to their respective COs 110 .
- each CO 110 (which includes an intelligent switch 128 ) multicasts all of the TV feeds to their respective SAIs 112 .
- each SAI 112 (which includes a DSLAM 130 ) then multicasts all of the TV feeds to their respective STBs 114 .
- the transport network 100 in addition to providing broadcast TV can also provide voice (telecommunications) and data (Internet) to the homes via DSL phone lines.
- Each VHO 106 contains a BTV server 124 (multiple BTV servers 124 are possible) whose main purpose is to provide a rapid TV channel change functionality. This functionality is used when a user changes a TV channel and their STB 114 sends an ICC request/fast channel change request) to the BTV server 124 (e.g., delivery server 124 ). In response, the BTV server 124 unicasts the newly requested TV channel directly to that STB 114 so it can be displayed in a timely manner on the user's TV. Thus, the user will not have to experience an undesirable delay waiting for the new TV channel to be displayed on their TV.
- BTV server 124 multiple BTV servers 124 are possible
- the BTV server 124 also has a secondary purpose in which it is responsible for retransmitting a copy of a lost packet to STBs 114 .
- This functionality is used when a STB 114 is tuned to a TV channel and it detects that there is a lost packet associated with a video stream of that TV channel. In this situation, the STB 114 sends a retransmission request for the lost packet back to the BTV server 124 . And, the BTV server 124 then retransmits a copy of the packet back to that particular STB 114 using a unicast session. For example, assume a packet 132 is lost between one of the COs 110 ′ and one of it's corresponding SAIs 112 ′.
- each downstream STB 114 ′ (only two shown) which happened to be tuned to the TV channel that is associated with the lost packet 132 sends a retransmission request 134 back to the BTV server 124 .
- the BTV server 124 then retransmits (unicasts) two individual lost packets 132 ′ directly back to the two requesting STBs 114 ′. It is fairly easy to see how the reception of multiple retransmission requests 134 for the same lost packet 132 and then the retransmission of multiple lost packets 132 ′ back to the requesting STBs 114 ′ can lead to a congestion problem. A second example is provided below to better illustrate this point.
- the BTV server 124 can receive an avalanche of retransmission requests 134 and 138 so it has to individually retransmit a large number of lost packets 132 ′ and 136 ′ directly back to the STBs 114 ′ and 114 ′′. This can lead to two problems:
- the present invention includes an intelligent switch and a method for retransmitting a lost packet that is associated with a television broadcast stream to one or more STBs.
- the intelligent switch functions as follows: (a) receives, from one of the STBs, a request for a retransmission of a lost packet; (b) forwards, to a BTV server, the request for the retransmission of the lost packet; (c) initiates a suppression period during which if subsequent request(s) for the retransmission of the same lost packet are received from other STB(s) then the subsequent request(s) would not be forwarded to the BTV server; (d) receives, from the BTV server, a retransmitted lost packet which is associated with the request for the retransmission of the lost packet; and (e) sends the retransmitted lost packet to the STB which sent the request for the retransmission of the lost packet and to the other STB(s) which sent the subsequent request(s) for the retransmission of the lost
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates the basic components of an exemplary transport network which provides broadcast TV channels to homes via DSL phone lines;
- FIG. 2 (PRIOR ART) is a graph that illustrates the estimated future I/O bandwidth requirements on a BTV server which is used to help explain why there is a need for the present invention
- FIG. 3 is a graph that illustrates the estimated number of future retransmission requests and future ICC requests that will be sent to the BTV which is used to further help explain why there is a need for the present invention
- FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates the basic components of an exemplary transport network which provides broadcast TV channels to homes via DSL phone lines in accordance with the present invention
- FIG. 5 is a flowchart that illustrates the basic steps of a method which can be implemented by an intelligent switch located within a CO shown in FIG. 4 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs in accordance with the present invention
- FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the exemplary transport network shown in FIG. 4 which is used to help explain one scenario where the intelligent switch can implement the method shown in FIG. 5 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs in accordance with the present invention
- FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the exemplary transport network shown in FIG. 4 which is used to help explain another scenario where the intelligent switch can implement the method shown in FIG. 5 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an enhanced transport network which has distributed BTV server(s) and also has the intelligent switch which can implement the method shown in FIG. 5 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 4 there is a block diagram that illustrates the basic components of an exemplary transport network 400 which provides broadcast TV channels to homes via DSL phone lines in accordance with the present invention.
- the exemplary transport network 400 shown includes two super head-ends 402 , a backbone network 404 , multiple VHOs 406 , multiple IOs 408 , multiple COs 410 , multiple SAIs 412 and multiple STBs 414 .
- each super head-end 402 (which includes a router 416 ) receives international TV feeds and supplies those international TV feeds via the backbone network 404 to each VHO 406 .
- each VHO 406 (which includes a router 418 , intelligent switch 420 , VoD server 422 and BTV server 424 ) receives local TV feeds and multicasts all of the TV feeds to their respective IOs 408 .
- each IO 408 (which includes a router 426 ) then multicasts all of the TV feeds to their respective COs 410 .
- each CO 410 (which includes an intelligent switch 428 ) multicasts all of the TV feeds to their respective SAIs 412 .
- each SAI 412 (which includes a DSLAM 430 ) then multicasts all of the TV feeds to their respective STBs 414 .
- the transport network 400 in addition to providing broadcast TV can also provide voice (telecommunications) and data (Internet) to the homes via DSL phone lines.
- Each VHO 406 contains a BTV server 424 (multiple BTV servers 424 are possible) whose main purpose is to provide a rapid TV channel change functionality.
- This functionality is used when a user changes a TV channel and their STB 414 sends an ICC request/fast channel change request to the BTV server 424 (e.g., delivery server 124 ).
- the BTV server 424 unicasts the newly requested TV channel directly to that STB 414 so it can be displayed in a timely manner on the user's TV.
- the user will not have to experience an undesirable delay waiting for the new TV channel to be displayed on their TV.
- the BTV server 424 also has a secondary purpose in which it is responsible for retransmitting a copy of a lost packet to STBs 414 .
- a STB 414 detected a lost packet within a video stream of a TV channel that is being viewed by a user, then that STB 414 would send a retransmission request for the lost packet back to the BTV server 424 .
- the BTV server 424 would retransmit a copy of the lost packet back to that particular STB 414 using a unicast session.
- the present invention addresses this problem by enabling the COs 410 and in particular the intelligent switches 428 therein to implement a method 500 which helps to effectively retransmit a copy of a lost packet to STBs 414 .
- a detailed discussion about method 500 is provided next with respect to FIG. 5 .
- FIG. 5 there is a flowchart illustrating the basic steps of the method 500 which can be implemented by the intelligent switches 428 located within the COs 410 to help effectively retransmit a lost packet to STBs 414 in accordance with the present invention.
- Each intelligent switch 428 has a memory 440 which stores instructions that are processable by a processor 442 so that the processor 442 can facilitate the following operations: (a) receive, from one of the STBs 414 , a request for a retransmission of a lost packet (step 502 ); (b) forward, to the BTV server 424 , the request for the retransmission of the lost packet (step 504 ); (c) initiate a suppression period during which if subsequent request(s) for the retransmission of the same lost packet are received from other STB(s) 414 then the subsequent request(s) would not be forwarded to the BTV server 424 (step 506 ); (d) receive, from the BTV server 424 , a retransmitted lost packet which is associated with the request for the retransmission of the lost packet (step 508 ); and (e) send the retransmitted lost packet to the STB 414 which sent the request for the retransmission of the lost packet and to the other STB(s)
- FIG. 6 there is a block diagram of the exemplary transport network 400 which is used to help explain one scenario where an intelligent switch 428 implements the basic steps of method 500 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs 414 in accordance with the present invention.
- an intelligent switch 428 implements the basic steps of method 500 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs 414 in accordance with the present invention.
- a packet 444 is lost between one of the COs 410 ′ and one of it's corresponding SAIs 412 ′.
- two STBs 414 a ′ and 414 b ′ happened to be tuned to the TV channel which is associated with the lost packet 444 .
- the STBs 414 a ′ and 414 b ′ would respectively transmit retransmission requests 446 a ′ and 446 b ′ so they can each receive a copy of the lost packet 444 .
- the intelligent switch 428 ′ receives the retransmission request 446 a ′ from STB 414 a ′ before it receives the retransmission request 446 b ′ from STB 414 b ′ (see step 502 ). In this case, the intelligent switch 428 ′ forwards the retransmission request 446 a ′ to the BTV server 424 (see step 504 ).
- the intelligent switch 428 ′ also initiates a suppression period during which if subsequent retransmission requests 446 (such as retransmission request 446 b ′) for the same lost packet 444 are received from other STBs 414 ′ (such as STB 414 b ′) then those subsequent retransmission requests 446 would not be forwarded to the BTV server 424 (step 506 ).
- subsequent retransmission requests 446 such as retransmission request 446 b ′
- STB 414 b ′ such as STB 414 b ′
- the suppression period has a variable time-out parameter which is used to end the suppression period. Basically, the time-out parameter ends the suppression period if no other retransmission request 446 for the same lost packet 444 arrives within a predetermined time.
- the time-out parameter is application specific so that it can be set long enough to cover the typical time difference between the first and last retransmission requests 446 which are caused by the loss of one packet 444 .
- the intelligent switch 428 ′ maintains and uniquely identifies this suppression period within a database table by using a TV channel number, a lost packet identification number, and a port(s) 448 (such as port 448 a ) which happened to receive the retransmission requests 446 ′ (such as retransmission requests 446 a ′ and 446 b ′).
- the BTV server 424 Upon receiving the retransmitted request 446 a ′, the BTV server 424 sends one retransmitted lost packet 444 ′ to the intelligent switch 428 ′ (see step 508 ).
- the intelligent switch 428 ′ uses the database table to associate the retransmitted lost packet 444 ′ to retransmission requests 446 a ′ and 446 b ′. Then, the intelligent switch 428 ′ sends the retransmitted lost packet 444 ′ to STB 414 a ′ which sent the retransmission request 446 a ′ and to STB 414 b ′ which sent the subsequent retransmission request 446 b ′ (see step 510 ).
- the intelligent switch 428 ′ forwards the retransmitted lost packet 444 ′ out port 448 a (which received the retransmission requests 446 a ′ and 446 b ′) to STBs 414 a ′ and 414 b ′ and to other STBs 414 ′ associated with the same SAI 412 ′.
- FIG. 7 there is a block diagram of the exemplary transport network 400 which is used to help explain another scenario where an intelligent switch 428 implements the basic steps of method 500 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs 414 in accordance with the present invention.
- an intelligent switch 428 implements the basic steps of method 500 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs 414 in accordance with the present invention.
- a packet 452 is lost between one of the IOs 408 ′′ and one of it's corresponding COs 410 ′′.
- four STBs 414 a ′′, 414 b ′′, 414 c ′′ and 414 d ′′ happened to be tuned to the TV channel which is associated with the lost packet 452 .
- the STBs 414 a ′′, 414 b ′′, 414 c ′′ and 414 d ′′ would respectively transmit retransmission requests 454 a ′′, 454 b ′′, 454 c ′′ and 454 d ′′ so they can each receive a copy of the lost packet 452 .
- the intelligent switch 428 ′′ receives the retransmission request 454 a ′′ from STB 414 a ′′ before it receives the retransmission requests 454 b ′′, 454 c ′′ and 454 d ′′ from STBs 414 b ′′, 414 c ′′ and 414 d ′′ (see step 502 ). In this case, the intelligent switch 428 ′′ forwards the retransmission request 454 a ′′ to the BTV server 424 (see step 504 ).
- the intelligent switch 428 ′′ also initiates a suppression period during which if subsequent retransmission requests 454 ′′ (such as retransmission requests 454 b ′′, 454 c ′′ and 454 d ′′) for the same lost packet 452 are received from other STBs 414 ′′ (such as STBs 414 b ′′, 414 c ′′ and 414 d ′′) then those subsequent retransmission requests 454 ′′ would not be forwarded to the BTV server 424 (step 506 ).
- subsequent retransmission requests 454 ′′ such as retransmission requests 454 b ′′, 454 c ′′ and 454 d ′′
- the intelligent switch 428 ′′ maintains and uniquely identifies this particular suppression period in a database table by using a TV channel number, a lost packet identification number, and ports 458 a and 458 b which happened to receive the retransmission requests 454 a ′′, 454 b ′′, 454 c ′′ and 454 d′′.
- the BTV server 424 Upon receiving the retransmitted request 454 a ′′, the BTV server 424 sends one retransmitted lost packet 452 ′′ to the intelligent switch 428 ′′ (see step 508 ).
- the intelligent switch 428 ′′ uses the database table to associate the retransmitted lost packet 452 ′′ to retransmission requests 454 a ′′, 454 b ′′, 454 c ′′ and 454 d ′′.
- the intelligent switch 428 ′′ sends the retransmitted lost packet 452 ′′ to STB 414 a ′′ which sent the retransmission request 454 a ′′ and to STBs 414 b ′′, 414 c ′′ and 414 d ′′ which sent the subsequent retransmission request 454 b ′′, 454 c ′′ and 454 d ′′ (see step 510 ).
- the intelligent switch 428 ′′ broadcasts the retransmitted lost packet 452 ′′ out of ports 458 a and 458 b (which received the retransmission requests 454 a ′′, 454 b ′′, 454 c ′′ and 454 d ′′) to STBs 414 a ′′, 414 b ′′, 414 c ′′ and 414 d ′′ and to the other STBs 414 ′′ associated with SAIs 412 ′′.
- FIG. 8 there is a block diagram of an exemplary transport network 400 ′ which has been enhanced to have BTV server(s) 802 located in the SAIs 412 in addition to having BTV server(s) 424 located in the VHOs 406 .
- the placement of BTV server(s) 802 within the SAIs 412 is done to improve the rapid TV channel change functionality as described in the following documents:
- the transport networks described in these two documents do not discuss the method 500 of the present invention. However, those transport networks like the transport network 400 ′ described herein can be enhanced by enabling their intelligent switches 428 to implement the method 500 shown in FIG. 5 .
- BTV server(s) 802 will affect the retransmission of lost packets as described in the following example. Assume that a BTV server 802 ′ is located in SAI 412 ′ and that a packet 804 was lost somewhere downstream of that SAI 412 ′. In this case, the retransmission request 806 ′ sent from STB 414 a ′ (for instance) would not make it to the intelligent switch 428 ′.
- the BTV server 802 ′ would handle the retransmission request 806 ′ and unicast a retransmitted lost packet 804 ′ directly to the requesting STBs 414 a ′. However, if the packet 804 had been lost upstream of the SAI 412 ′ then the intelligent switch 428 ′ would implement the method 500 discussed above with respect to FIGS. 4-7 .
- the present invention enables the following: (1) suppression of subsequent retransmission requests which are caused by the same packet loss at the intelligent switch 428 so they can not reach the BTV server 424 ; (2) retransmission of a single copy of the lost packet from the BTV server 424 to the intelligent switch 428 ; and (3) initialization of a forwarding/broadcasting of the retransmitted lost packet to the relevant STBs 414 .
- the retransmitted lost packet can be forwarded/broadcasted to the relevant STBs 414 as follows:
- the present invention provides an effective solution which helps prevent I/O and transaction congestions at the BTV server 424 (see FIGS. 1-3 ). And, by using the present invention, a lost packet will cause only one I/O and transaction at the BTV server 424 (if it is lost between an IO 408 and it's corresponding STBs 414 ). This considerably increases the effectiveness and performance of the BTV server 424 . Since, the BTV server 424 will not be overwhelmed with retransmission requests while it performs it's main service which is the ICC functionality.
- the present invention has been described herein as being implemented by the intelligent switches 428 located within the COs 410 . However, it should be appreciated that the present invention can also be implemented by intelligent switches that are located in other areas such as in the SAIs 412 , IOs 408 or VHOs 406 . And, it should be appreciated that the configuration of transport networks 400 and 400 ′ shown herein is exemplary and that the present invention can be implemented in transport networks which happen to have a different configuration. Moreover, it should be appreciated that anyone of the intelligent switches 428 can process more than one lost packet at any given time.
Abstract
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention is related to an intelligent switch and a method for retransmitting a lost packet that is associated with a television broadcast stream to one or more decoders (set-top boxes).
- 2. Description of Related Art
- The following abbreviations are herewith defined, at least some of which are referred to in the ensuing description of the prior art and the present invention.
- BTV Broadcast Television
- CO Central Office
- DSL Digital Subscriber Line
- DSLAM Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer
- Gbps Giga-bits-per-second
- ICC Instant Channel Change
- SAI Service Area Interface
- SHE Super Headend
- STB Set-Top Box
- TV Television
- VHO Video Hub Office
- VOD Video-On-Demand
- Referring to
FIG. 1 (PRIOR ART), there is a block diagram that illustrates the basic components of anexemplary transport network 100 which can provide broadcast TV channels to homes via DSL phone lines. Theexemplary transport network 100 shown includes two super head-ends 102, abackbone network 104,multiple VHOs 106,multiple IOs 108,multiple COs 110,multiple SAIs 112 andmultiple STBs 114. In operation, each super head-end 102 (which includes a router 116) receives international TV feeds and supplies those international TV feeds via thebackbone network 104 to each VHO 106. Then, each VHO 106 (which includes arouter 118,intelligent switch 120,VoD server 122 and BTV server 124) receives local TV feeds and multicasts all of the TV feeds to theirrespective IOs 108. And, each IO 108 (which includes a router 126) then multicasts all of the TV feeds to theirrespective COs 110. Then, each CO 110 (which includes an intelligent switch 128) multicasts all of the TV feeds to theirrespective SAIs 112. And, each SAI 112 (which includes a DSLAM 130) then multicasts all of the TV feeds to theirrespective STBs 114. In this way, users can interface with theirSTB 114 and select one of the multicast TV channels to watch on their TV (not shown). Thetransport network 100 in addition to providing broadcast TV can also provide voice (telecommunications) and data (Internet) to the homes via DSL phone lines. - Each VHO 106 contains a BTV server 124 (
multiple BTV servers 124 are possible) whose main purpose is to provide a rapid TV channel change functionality. This functionality is used when a user changes a TV channel and theirSTB 114 sends an ICC request/fast channel change request) to the BTV server 124 (e.g., delivery server 124). In response, the BTVserver 124 unicasts the newly requested TV channel directly to thatSTB 114 so it can be displayed in a timely manner on the user's TV. Thus, the user will not have to experience an undesirable delay waiting for the new TV channel to be displayed on their TV. - The BTV
server 124 also has a secondary purpose in which it is responsible for retransmitting a copy of a lost packet toSTBs 114. This functionality is used when a STB 114 is tuned to a TV channel and it detects that there is a lost packet associated with a video stream of that TV channel. In this situation, the STB 114 sends a retransmission request for the lost packet back to the BTVserver 124. And, the BTVserver 124 then retransmits a copy of the packet back to thatparticular STB 114 using a unicast session. For example, assume apacket 132 is lost between one of theCOs 110′ and one of it'scorresponding SAIs 112′. Then, eachdownstream STB 114′ (only two shown) which happened to be tuned to the TV channel that is associated with the lostpacket 132 sends aretransmission request 134 back to the BTVserver 124. The BTVserver 124 then retransmits (unicasts) two individual lostpackets 132′ directly back to the two requestingSTBs 114′. It is fairly easy to see how the reception ofmultiple retransmission requests 134 for the same lostpacket 132 and then the retransmission of multiple lostpackets 132′ back to the requestingSTBs 114′ can lead to a congestion problem. A second example is provided below to better illustrate this point. - In the second example, assume a
packet 136 is lost between one of theIOs 108″ and one of it'scorresponding COs 110″. Then, eachdownstream STB 114″ (only four shown) which happened to be tuned to the TV channel that is associated with the lostpacket 136 sends aretransmission request 138 back to the BTVserver 124. The BTVserver 124 then retransmits (unicasts) fourindividual packets 136′ directly back to the four requestingSTBs 114″. Thus, depending on the location of the packet loss and the number of viewers (e.g.,STBs 114′ and 114″) that happen to be affected by the packet loss it is possible to overload theBTV server 124. In fact, the BTVserver 124 can receive an avalanche ofretransmission requests packets 132′ and 136′ directly back to theSTBs 114′ and 114″. This can lead to two problems: -
- 1. I/O Congestion at BTV server 124: The BTV
server 124 has a limited output capacity (e.g., 2 Gbps) to serve bothretransmission requests STBs 114. Therefore, the mentioned avalanche ofretransmission requests server 124.FIG. 2 (PRIOR ART) is a graph which illustrates the estimated I/O bandwidth requirements in the future on aBTV server 124. As can be seen, this I/O problem is only going to get worse with the passage of time. - 2. Transaction Congestion at BTV server 124: The BTV
server 124 has to respond toretransmission requests packets packets 132′ and 136′ back toSTBs 114′ and 114″. In addition, the BTVserver 124 is responsible for handling ICC requests. Therefore, the mentioned avalanche would likely create an overload at the BTVserver 124.FIG. 3 (PRIOR ART) is a graph which illustrates the estimated number of retransmission requests and ICC requests in the future that may be sent to the BTVserver 124. As can be seen, this processing/transaction overload is only going to get worse with the passage of time.
- 1. I/O Congestion at BTV server 124: The BTV
- Accordingly, there is a need for a new procedure to handle retransmission requests and the retransmissions of lost packets such that the
BTV server 124 does not suffer from problems like I/O congestion and/or transaction congestion. This need and other needs are satisfied by the intelligent switch and method of present invention. - The present invention includes an intelligent switch and a method for retransmitting a lost packet that is associated with a television broadcast stream to one or more STBs. In one embodiment, the intelligent switch functions as follows: (a) receives, from one of the STBs, a request for a retransmission of a lost packet; (b) forwards, to a BTV server, the request for the retransmission of the lost packet; (c) initiates a suppression period during which if subsequent request(s) for the retransmission of the same lost packet are received from other STB(s) then the subsequent request(s) would not be forwarded to the BTV server; (d) receives, from the BTV server, a retransmitted lost packet which is associated with the request for the retransmission of the lost packet; and (e) sends the retransmitted lost packet to the STB which sent the request for the retransmission of the lost packet and to the other STB(s) which sent the subsequent request(s) for the retransmission of the lost packet.
- A more complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
-
FIG. 1 (PRIOR ART) is a block diagram that illustrates the basic components of an exemplary transport network which provides broadcast TV channels to homes via DSL phone lines; -
FIG. 2 (PRIOR ART) is a graph that illustrates the estimated future I/O bandwidth requirements on a BTV server which is used to help explain why there is a need for the present invention; -
FIG. 3 (PRIOR ART) is a graph that illustrates the estimated number of future retransmission requests and future ICC requests that will be sent to the BTV which is used to further help explain why there is a need for the present invention; -
FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates the basic components of an exemplary transport network which provides broadcast TV channels to homes via DSL phone lines in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 5 is a flowchart that illustrates the basic steps of a method which can be implemented by an intelligent switch located within a CO shown inFIG. 4 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the exemplary transport network shown inFIG. 4 which is used to help explain one scenario where the intelligent switch can implement the method shown inFIG. 5 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the exemplary transport network shown inFIG. 4 which is used to help explain another scenario where the intelligent switch can implement the method shown inFIG. 5 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs in accordance with the present invention; and -
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an enhanced transport network which has distributed BTV server(s) and also has the intelligent switch which can implement the method shown inFIG. 5 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one or more STBs in accordance with the present invention. - Referring to
FIG. 4 , there is a block diagram that illustrates the basic components of anexemplary transport network 400 which provides broadcast TV channels to homes via DSL phone lines in accordance with the present invention. Theexemplary transport network 400 shown includes two super head-ends 402, abackbone network 404,multiple VHOs 406,multiple IOs 408,multiple COs 410,multiple SAIs 412 andmultiple STBs 414. In operation, each super head-end 402 (which includes a router 416) receives international TV feeds and supplies those international TV feeds via thebackbone network 404 to eachVHO 406. Then, each VHO 406 (which includes arouter 418,intelligent switch 420,VoD server 422 and BTV server 424) receives local TV feeds and multicasts all of the TV feeds to theirrespective IOs 408. And, each IO 408 (which includes a router 426) then multicasts all of the TV feeds to theirrespective COs 410. Then, each CO 410 (which includes an intelligent switch 428) multicasts all of the TV feeds to theirrespective SAIs 412. And, each SAI 412 (which includes a DSLAM 430) then multicasts all of the TV feeds to theirrespective STBs 414. In this way, users can interface with theirSTB 414 and select one of the multicast TV channels to watch on their TV (not shown). Thetransport network 400 in addition to providing broadcast TV can also provide voice (telecommunications) and data (Internet) to the homes via DSL phone lines. - Each
VHO 406 contains a BTV server 424 (multiple BTV servers 424 are possible) whose main purpose is to provide a rapid TV channel change functionality. This functionality is used when a user changes a TV channel and theirSTB 414 sends an ICC request/fast channel change request to the BTV server 424 (e.g., delivery server 124). In response, theBTV server 424 unicasts the newly requested TV channel directly to thatSTB 414 so it can be displayed in a timely manner on the user's TV. Thus, the user will not have to experience an undesirable delay waiting for the new TV channel to be displayed on their TV. - The
BTV server 424 also has a secondary purpose in which it is responsible for retransmitting a copy of a lost packet toSTBs 414. In the past, if aSTB 414 detected a lost packet within a video stream of a TV channel that is being viewed by a user, then thatSTB 414 would send a retransmission request for the lost packet back to theBTV server 424. And, theBTV server 424 would retransmit a copy of the lost packet back to thatparticular STB 414 using a unicast session. This traditional process is problematical because when a packet is lost then theBTV server 424 may receive an avalanche of retransmission requests frommultiple STBs 414 and then have to retransmit/unicast an individual lost packet back to each one of those STBs 414 (seeFIG. 1 ). The present invention addresses this problem by enabling theCOs 410 and in particular theintelligent switches 428 therein to implement amethod 500 which helps to effectively retransmit a copy of a lost packet toSTBs 414. A detailed discussion aboutmethod 500 is provided next with respect toFIG. 5 . - Referring to
FIG. 5 , there is a flowchart illustrating the basic steps of themethod 500 which can be implemented by theintelligent switches 428 located within theCOs 410 to help effectively retransmit a lost packet toSTBs 414 in accordance with the present invention. Eachintelligent switch 428 has amemory 440 which stores instructions that are processable by aprocessor 442 so that theprocessor 442 can facilitate the following operations: (a) receive, from one of theSTBs 414, a request for a retransmission of a lost packet (step 502); (b) forward, to theBTV server 424, the request for the retransmission of the lost packet (step 504); (c) initiate a suppression period during which if subsequent request(s) for the retransmission of the same lost packet are received from other STB(s) 414 then the subsequent request(s) would not be forwarded to the BTV server 424 (step 506); (d) receive, from theBTV server 424, a retransmitted lost packet which is associated with the request for the retransmission of the lost packet (step 508); and (e) send the retransmitted lost packet to theSTB 414 which sent the request for the retransmission of the lost packet and to the other STB(s) 414 which sent the subsequent request(s) for the retransmission of the lost packet (step 510). Two exemplary scenarios are provided next which help illustrate the various steps and advantages associated with the present invention. - Referring to
FIG. 6 , there is a block diagram of theexemplary transport network 400 which is used to help explain one scenario where anintelligent switch 428 implements the basic steps ofmethod 500 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one ormore STBs 414 in accordance with the present invention. In this scenario, assume apacket 444 is lost between one of theCOs 410′ and one of it's correspondingSAIs 412′. And, assume that two STBs 414 a′ and 414 b′ happened to be tuned to the TV channel which is associated with the lostpacket 444. In this case, the STBs 414 a′ and 414 b′ would respectively transmitretransmission requests 446 a′ and 446 b′ so they can each receive a copy of the lostpacket 444. - In addition, assume that the
intelligent switch 428′ receives theretransmission request 446 a′ from STB 414 a′ before it receives theretransmission request 446 b′ fromSTB 414 b′ (see step 502). In this case, theintelligent switch 428′ forwards theretransmission request 446 a′ to the BTV server 424 (see step 504). At this time, theintelligent switch 428′ also initiates a suppression period during which if subsequent retransmission requests 446 (such asretransmission request 446 b′) for the same lostpacket 444 are received fromother STBs 414′ (such asSTB 414 b′) then those subsequent retransmission requests 446 would not be forwarded to the BTV server 424 (step 506). - In one embodiment, the suppression period has a variable time-out parameter which is used to end the suppression period. Basically, the time-out parameter ends the suppression period if no other retransmission request 446 for the same lost
packet 444 arrives within a predetermined time. In addition, the time-out parameter is application specific so that it can be set long enough to cover the typical time difference between the first and last retransmission requests 446 which are caused by the loss of onepacket 444. Moreover, theintelligent switch 428′ maintains and uniquely identifies this suppression period within a database table by using a TV channel number, a lost packet identification number, and a port(s) 448 (such as port 448 a) which happened to receive the retransmission requests 446′ (such asretransmission requests 446 a′ and 446 b′). - Upon receiving the retransmitted
request 446 a′, theBTV server 424 sends one retransmitted lostpacket 444′ to theintelligent switch 428′ (see step 508). Theintelligent switch 428′ uses the database table to associate the retransmitted lostpacket 444′ toretransmission requests 446 a′ and 446 b′. Then, theintelligent switch 428′ sends the retransmitted lostpacket 444′ to STB 414 a′ which sent theretransmission request 446 a′ and toSTB 414 b′ which sent thesubsequent retransmission request 446 b′ (see step 510). In particular, theintelligent switch 428′ forwards the retransmitted lostpacket 444′ out port 448 a (which received the retransmission requests 446 a′ and 446 b′) to STBs 414 a′ and 414 b′ and toother STBs 414′ associated with thesame SAI 412′. - Referring to
FIG. 7 , there is a block diagram of theexemplary transport network 400 which is used to help explain another scenario where anintelligent switch 428 implements the basic steps ofmethod 500 to effectively retransmit a lost packet to one ormore STBs 414 in accordance with the present invention. In this scenario, assume apacket 452 is lost between one of theIOs 408″ and one of it's correspondingCOs 410″. And, assume that four STBs 414 a″, 414 b″, 414 c″ and 414 d″ happened to be tuned to the TV channel which is associated with the lostpacket 452. In this case, the STBs 414 a″, 414 b″, 414 c″ and 414 d″ would respectively transmitretransmission requests 454 a″, 454 b″, 454 c″ and 454 d″ so they can each receive a copy of the lostpacket 452. - In addition, assume that the
intelligent switch 428″ receives theretransmission request 454 a″ from STB 414 a″ before it receives the retransmission requests 454 b″, 454 c″ and 454 d″ fromSTBs 414 b″, 414 c″ and 414 d″ (see step 502). In this case, theintelligent switch 428″ forwards theretransmission request 454 a″ to the BTV server 424 (see step 504). At this time, theintelligent switch 428″ also initiates a suppression period during which if subsequent retransmission requests 454″ (such asretransmission requests 454 b″, 454 c″ and 454 d″) for the same lostpacket 452 are received fromother STBs 414″ (such asSTBs 414 b″, 414 c″ and 414 d″) then those subsequent retransmission requests 454″ would not be forwarded to the BTV server 424 (step 506). Theintelligent switch 428″ maintains and uniquely identifies this particular suppression period in a database table by using a TV channel number, a lost packet identification number, andports - Upon receiving the retransmitted
request 454 a″, theBTV server 424 sends one retransmitted lostpacket 452″ to theintelligent switch 428″ (see step 508). Theintelligent switch 428″ uses the database table to associate the retransmitted lostpacket 452″ toretransmission requests 454 a″, 454 b″, 454 c″ and 454 d″. Then, theintelligent switch 428″ sends the retransmitted lostpacket 452″ to STB 414 a″ which sent theretransmission request 454 a″ and toSTBs 414 b″, 414 c″ and 414 d″ which sent thesubsequent retransmission request 454 b″, 454 c″ and 454 d″ (see step 510). In particular, theintelligent switch 428″ broadcasts the retransmitted lostpacket 452″ out ofports other STBs 414″ associated withSAIs 412″. - Referring to
FIG. 8 , there is a block diagram of anexemplary transport network 400′ which has been enhanced to have BTV server(s) 802 located in theSAIs 412 in addition to having BTV server(s) 424 located in theVHOs 406. The placement of BTV server(s) 802 within theSAIs 412 is done to improve the rapid TV channel change functionality as described in the following documents: -
- U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/311,046 filed on Dec. 19, 2005 and entitled “Rapid Media Channel Changing Mechanism and Access Network Node Comprising Same”.
- U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/311,081 filed on Dec. 19, 2005 and entitled “Access Node Capable of Dynamic Channel Caching”.
- The contents of these documents are incorporated by reference herein.
- The transport networks described in these two documents do not discuss the
method 500 of the present invention. However, those transport networks like thetransport network 400′ described herein can be enhanced by enabling theirintelligent switches 428 to implement themethod 500 shown inFIG. 5 . Of course, the addition of BTV server(s) 802 will affect the retransmission of lost packets as described in the following example. Assume that aBTV server 802′ is located inSAI 412′ and that apacket 804 was lost somewhere downstream of thatSAI 412′. In this case, theretransmission request 806′ sent from STB 414 a′ (for instance) would not make it to theintelligent switch 428′. Because, theBTV server 802′ would handle theretransmission request 806′ and unicast a retransmitted lostpacket 804′ directly to the requesting STBs 414 a′. However, if thepacket 804 had been lost upstream of theSAI 412′ then theintelligent switch 428′ would implement themethod 500 discussed above with respect toFIGS. 4-7 . - From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention enables the following: (1) suppression of subsequent retransmission requests which are caused by the same packet loss at the
intelligent switch 428 so they can not reach theBTV server 424; (2) retransmission of a single copy of the lost packet from theBTV server 424 to theintelligent switch 428; and (3) initialization of a forwarding/broadcasting of the retransmitted lost packet to therelevant STBs 414. The retransmitted lost packet can be forwarded/broadcasted to therelevant STBs 414 as follows: -
- 1. If the suppressed retransmission requests for a lost packet had arrived at one single port within the
intelligent switch 428, then the retransmitted lost packet would be forwarded down link to the corresponding STBs 414 (seeFIG. 6 ). - 2. If the suppressed retransmission requests for a lost packet had arrived at multiple ports within the
intelligent switch 428, then the retransmitted lost packet would be broadcasted out of those multiple ports to the corresponding STBs 414 (seeFIG. 7 ). - 3. The
intelligent switch 428 could unicast the retransmitted lost packet only to requesting STBs. However, this would require a bigger state table than would be needed if anyone of the two previous ways was used to retransmit the lost packet.
- 1. If the suppressed retransmission requests for a lost packet had arrived at one single port within the
- As can be seen, the present invention provides an effective solution which helps prevent I/O and transaction congestions at the BTV server 424 (see
FIGS. 1-3 ). And, by using the present invention, a lost packet will cause only one I/O and transaction at the BTV server 424 (if it is lost between anIO 408 and it's corresponding STBs 414). This considerably increases the effectiveness and performance of theBTV server 424. Since, theBTV server 424 will not be overwhelmed with retransmission requests while it performs it's main service which is the ICC functionality. - The present invention has been described herein as being implemented by the
intelligent switches 428 located within theCOs 410. However, it should be appreciated that the present invention can also be implemented by intelligent switches that are located in other areas such as in theSAIs 412,IOs 408 or VHOs 406. And, it should be appreciated that the configuration oftransport networks intelligent switches 428 can process more than one lost packet at any given time. - Although one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims.
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